The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
21 May 2023
Question: Someone said that if we eat meat, we create demand for it and therefore we indirectly cause the animals to be killed. Is my understanding correct that if there's no action [of killing] from us, we are not in the wrong even though the vegetarians argue that people who eat meat create demand for animals to be killed?
Than Ajahn: Well, as long as you don't kill the animals, you're not breaking the precept. That's all we care about. As far as creating demand or not, that's not our business to worry about.
Like if you build highways and build automobiles, does it mean that you are sending people to die on the highway? When you build automobiles, you are creating demand for people to buy automobiles. And when people who bought the automobiles died in the crash on the highway, are people who build automobiles contributing to those accidents? If you are building highways, are you also contributing to the accidents? If so, then everybody should become a monk and vegetarian. That will solve the whole world’s problems!
Student: That’s incredible simile. I never looked at it that way. I have no more doubt about it.
Because if we have one doubt, then we can raise another 10 topics that could be controversial.
Than Ajahn: Yeah. Just let people be. If they want to be vegetarian, it’s okay; if they don't want to become vegetarians, it’s okay. The point is not being a vegetarian or not a vegetarian. The point is to kill or not to kill. That’s all. You can still eat meat. All the animals will die one day right? When they die, you can use that meat as food. By eating the meat of the dead animals, are you creating demand for animals to die?
Student: No.
Than Ajahn: Because it's available. Instead of letting it go to waste, you can get food out of it. If you raise chicken and the chicken dies, what do you do with it? You can eat it or you can throw it away.
Student: So the key concept is not to kill.
Than Ajahn: That’s right. And also not to have any part in killing the animals. You shouldn’t ask other people to kill the animals for you. Like if you go to a restaurant where there are fish that are still swimming, you shouldn’t point to the fish and say, ’I want that fish to be cooked as my food.’ If you do it, even though you don't kill that fish yourself, you are breaking the precepts because you are the one who ask the cook to kill that fish for you.
So either you kill the animal yourself or ask someone else to do it for you, it’s considered to be breaking the precept of killing.
Student 2: The simile about building highways, i.e. people who build highways are the one who cause it to have accidents, are funny (good) analogy.
Than Ajahn: Before people built automobiles, there were no people killed in the automobile accidents, right? Before people built planes, there were no people killed in the plane crash, right? So do we blame people who build automobiles and build planes for causing death?
Student 2: Yeah. We don’t think of it that way until you point it out. It’s a very good analogy.
“Dhamma in English, Oct 25, 2022.”
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Question: The meat industry is thriving because there are enough consumers to meet the supply. If there is no demand, there is no need to supply meat. Animals are being killed because there is a collective demand. How would you justify this according to the teachings of the Buddha?
Than Ajahn: By the Law of Kamma. If you did bad kamma in your past life, you would be reborn, sooner or later, in your future life and be killed by others. If you had killed animals for food in your past life, you might be reborn as an animal in your future life and then you would be killed for food by others. So this is the Law of Kamma. If you don’t want to be killed by others, don’t kill others.
Question: Non-Buddhists often argue that the Buddha was not against consuming meat. Would you enlighten our society on this?
Than Ajahn: The Buddha was not concerned about what you eat. The Buddha was concerned about what you do. So if you don’t kill animals for food (or ask someone to kill them for you) that is good enough for him. If you want to eat meat or eat vegetables, that is your business.
But you must not kill for food. As far as eating food is concerned, you can eat anything you want if it is on the table. As long as you did not kill any animals or made them be killed for you, you can eat what is served on the table.
“Dhamma in English, Oct 4, 2022.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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